Toy car with coil track therefor

ABSTRACT

This invention pertains to a toy comprising, in combination, a track in the form of a coil and a powered car adapted to travel along and within the coil track. The car is provided with cogged wheels which are driven by a self-contained motor and arranged to be meshed with the coil track, thereby driving the car along said track.

United States Patent Inventor Shinoda Yoshie Tokyo, Japan App1.No. 88,694

Filed Nov. 12, 1970 Patented Jan. 11, 1972 Assignee Tomy Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Tokyo, Japan TOY CAR WITH COIL TRACK THEREFOR 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 46/243 M, 238/10 Int. Cl A63h 19/10 Field of Search 46/216,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,750,898 6/1956 Hjortborg 46/216 X 3,477,172 11/1969 Polewski 46/243 M 3,540,153 11/1970 Aoki 46/243 M Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner Robert F. Cutting Attorney-McGlew and Toren ABSTRACT: This invention pertains to a toy comprising, in combination, a track in the form of a coil and a powered car adapted to travel along and within the coil track, The car is provided with cogged wheels which are driven by a self-com tained motor and arranged to be meshed with the coil track, thereby driving the car along said track.

PATENTED JAN I 1 1972 SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR. YOSHIE SH/NODA mWa/m Elm ATTORNEYS PATENTEU JAN! 1 m SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR. \IOSHIE sum/00A dficywamofimz ATTORNEYS TOY CAR WITH COIL TRACK THEREFOR SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a toy, and more particularly to a novel toy comprising, in combination, a coil track and a powered car adapted to travel along and within said coil track.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a toy comprising, in combination, a coil track and a car adapted to travel along and within said coil track, said car comprising a housing, a motor housed therein and a pair of cogged wheels arranged to be driven for rotation by said motor and to be engaged with the coil track, thereby enabling the car to be driven along said track.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide entertainment and amusement for children by providing a toy comprising, in combination, a coil track and a powered car adapted to travel along and within said coil track and which is rich in play value.

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy of the kind stated above which is simple in operation, safe to handle and attractive in appearance.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy of the character described above which can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be more evident upon consideration of the following detailed description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a car according to the present inventron;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the car shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the state in which it is combined with a coil track according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially broken away plan view, in an enlarged scale, of an operative part of the car shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the coil track, illustrating both ends thereof to be joined together to form an endless track; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the embodiment, illustrating one example of the manner in which it is used.

In the drawings, like portions or parts are designated with like reference numerals and characters.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the presentation which comprises, in combination, a coil track A and a powered toy car B which is adapted to travel along and within the coil track A.

The coil track A comprises a tubular member 1 which is moulded from a transparent or semitransparent plastics material having suitable resiliency into the shape of a cylindrical coil having appropriate length. The track A has at one end a semiarcuate projection 2 of the same curvature as that of the coil track. The projection 2 has the outside diameter which corresponds substantially to the inside diameter of the tubular member 1 and is adapted to be resiliently snugly inserted in an opening 3 which opens at the other end of the coil track, so that an endless coil track can be formed by insertion of the projection 2 into the opening 3.

If desired, a considerably long or large coil track may be formed by joining together a plurality of coil tracks A in the manner previously mentioned.

In the illustrated embodiment, the car B is shaped as a kind of space train and comprises a motor housing Ba with an operative part Ba, a battery box Bb and an electric bulbequipped semitransparent spherical casing B0.

The housing Ba has therein an electric motor 4 and has a generally oval shape. It is composed of two symmetrical housing sections Bal and Ba2 which are secured together by means of screws 5. Also, it is provided, at its forward portion, a substantially U-shaped recess 6.

The operative part Ba comprises a boxlike frame 7 the rearward portion of which is pivotally mounted within the recess 6 of housing Ba so that the frame is rotated within a predetermined angular range and which has therein a transmission gear generally designated at 8 which is formed of a train of gearings, and a pair of cogged wheels 9 and I0 which are arranged to be driven for rotation by the motor 4 through the transmission gear 8 and to be resiliently engaged with the coil track A.

The cogged wheels 9 and 10 are each rotatably fixed to the frame 7 in such a way that one 9 of them is carried by a forwardly projected stationary arm ll of the frame and the other 10 of them by a rotatable arm I2 of the frame which is arranged to be rotatable within a predetermined angular range and to be constantly biased by means of a spring 13 in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the cogged wheel 9 carried by the stationary arm 11, as indicated by the arrow I4, so that the other cogged wheel 10 may be normally kept away from the first-mentioned cogged wheel 9 in a parallel and eccentrically spaced-apart relationship therewith. Thus, it will be seen that the cogged wheels 9 and 10 are placed such that they are normally eccentrically opposed to each other in a slightly transversely spaced-apart relationship.

The battery box Bb has a generally elongated oval shape and is composed of two symmetrical box sections Bbl and Bb2 which are removably secured together by latch means 15. Within the battery box Bb are housed dry cell batteries, not shown, which are electrically connected to the motor 4 via switch means 16, which is mounted on one B122 of the two sections, so as to supply electric power thereto. The battery box B17 is connected at its front end to the rear end of the motor housing Ba by means of a relatively short, flexible tube 17 through which wire leads l8 connecting the motor and the switch pass.

The spherical casing Be is composed of two hemispherical sections Bcl and B02 which are removably secured together by appropriate means and which are moulded from a semitransparent plastics material. Within the spherical casing Bc is mounted a miniature electric bulb 19 which is in circuit with said batteries via the electric switch and which is adapted to emit light when the circuit is closed by turning the switch on. The spherical casing 30 is connected to the rear end of the battery box Bb by means of a relatively short pliable tube 20 through which wire leads electrically connecting the bulb 19 and the switch means 16 pass.

Preferably, the cogged wheels 9 and 10, which are arranged to be meshed with the coil track A for driving the car B, or at least the coil track-contacting portions thereof are formed of a rubber material or the like so that, when the wheels are engaged with the coil track, sufficient frictional contact between the former and the latter may be ensured.

It is to be noted that the shape of the car B may be other than that illustrated, for example, the car may take the form of a space ship or rocket of different configuration.

When it is desired to operate the toy of the present invention, the car B is inserted in the coil track A through either one of the open ends thereof and the ends are joined together by fitting the projection 2 in the opening 3-to form an endless track. When the car B is thus inserted in the coil track A, the cogged wheels 9 and 10 are brought into resilient engagement with the coil track and the car is now ready for operation.

As the switch 16 is turned on, the motor 4 starts rotating and transmits its turning force to the cogged wheels 9 and 10 for rotation through the transmission gear 8 which is arranged to rotate the cogged wheels in opposite direction, whereby the car B is run along and within the coil track A. At the same time, the bulb circuit is closed and the bulb 19 is turned on, emitting light through the spherical casing Bc. Thus, the car B travels along the coil track A while emitting light with the miniature bulb 19. Accordingly, during the travel of the car along the coil track, the light emitted from the bulb brightly illuminates the transparent or semitransparent coil track and is, at the same time, brilliantly reflected thereby, thus affording a beautiful view.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that one of the important features and advantages of the present invention consists in that because of the track being a plastics-made coil, the track can be freely bent, twisted or stretched, and accordingly, any

desired configuration of coil track can be formed. FIG. 5 shows one example of how it can be used. It goes without saying that two or more children can play with a single set of the toy according to the present invention.

Another important feature is that the coil track functions as a kind of a pair of flexible racks for the cogged wheels. Consequently, even when the coil track is placed vertically, the car can travel upwardly along the track with the cogged wheels in meshed engagement therewith.

A further important feature is that the car can continuously travel along the track without any trouble, even when it is in the upside-down or right side-up state, because of the track being in the form of a coil within which the car can be retained.

What I claim is:

1. A toy comprising, in combination, a coil track and a car so constructed as to be inserted therein, said car comprising a housing, a power means housed therein and a pair of cogged wheels arranged to be rotated by said power means and to be resiliently engaged with the coil track when the car is inserted in the coil track, whereby when the car is inserted in the coil track and the power means is operated, the car is driven along the coil track.

2. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coil track is formed of a tubular member moulded from a transparent or semitransparent resilient plastics material into the form of a coil having suitable length, and has at one end a semiarcuate projection of the same curvature as that of the coil track, said projection having the outside diameter corresponding substantially to the inside diameter of the tubular member so as to be resiliently snugly inserted in the opening at the other end of the coil track, whereby an endless coil track can be formed by joining the both ends of said coil track together.

3. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cogged wheels are each rotatably fixed to a frame which is pivotally supported by said housing so as to be rotatable within a predetermined angular range, said frame having therein a transmission gear for transmitting the drive power of said power means to each of the cogged wheels, said transmission gear being arranged to rotate the cogged wheels in opposite directions.

4. A toy as set forth in claim 3, wherein said cogged wheels are disposed such that they are eccentrically opposed to each other in a transversely spaced-apart relationship.

5. A toy as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a battery box in which are housed dry cell batteries which are electrically connected to said power means via switch means for supplying power thereto, said battery box being connected to the rear end of the housing of said car by means of a relatively short, flexible tube.

6. A toy as set forth in claim 5, further comprising a semitransparent spherical casing in which is mounted a miniature electric bulb electrically connected to said dry cell batteries via said switch means and adapted to emit light when the switch is turned on, said spherical casing being connected to the rear end of the battery box by means of a relatively short,-

flexible tube.

7. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein the housing of said car has a generally oval shape and is composed of two symmetrical housing sections removably secured together, said housing having at its forward end portion a substantially U shaped recess in which the rear end of a frame having a pair of arms rotatably carrying the cogged wheels is pivotally mounted.

8. A toy as set forth in claim 7, wherein one of said arms is a stationary arm projecting forwardly from the front end of said frame on one side thereof and the other of said arms is a rotatable arm rotatably secured to said frame on the other side thereof, said rotatable arm being adapted to pivot within a predetermined angular range and constantly biased by means of a spring in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the cogged wheel carried by said stationary arm so as to normally keep the cogged wheel carried by said rotatable arm away from the first-mentioned cogged wheel in a parallel and eccentrically spaced-a art relationshi therewith.

9. A toy as set orth in claim wherein the battery box has a generally elongated oval shape and is composed of two symmetrical box sections removably secured thereto.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE I OF CORRECTION I ia te'nt No. 3,633,309 Dated January 11, 1972 Inventofls) SHINODA YOSHIE It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patentare hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading of the patent, the name of the inventor should read:

(SEAL) Attest:

* EDWARD M.FLET0HER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 503764 59 & LL54 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I969 0-366-384 FORM PO-1050 (10-69) 

1. A toy comprising, in combination, a coil track and a car so constructed as to be inserted therein, said car comprising a housing, a power means housed therein and a pair of cogged wheels arranged to be rotated by said power means and to be resiliently engaged with the coil track when the car is inserted in the coil track, whereby when the car is inserted in the coil track and the power means is operated, the car is driven along the coil track.
 2. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coil track is formed of a tubular member moulded from a transparent or semitransparent resilient plastics material into the form of a coil having suitable length, and has at one end a semiarcuate projection of the same curvature as that of the coil track, said projection having the outside diameter corresponding substantially to the inside diameter of the tubular member so as to be resiliently snugly inserted in the opening at the other end of the coil track, whereby an endless coil track can be formed by joining the both ends of said coil track together.
 3. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cogged wheels are each rotatably fixed to a frame which is pivotally supported by said housing so as to be rotatable within a predetermined angular range, said frame having therein a transmission gear for transmitting the drive power of said power means to each of the cogged wheels, said transmission gear being arranged to rotate the cogged wheels in opposite directions.
 4. A toy as set forth in claim 3, wherein said cogged wheels are disposed such that they are eccentrically opposed to each other in a transversely spaced-apart relationship.
 5. A toy as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a battery box in which are housed dry cell batteries which are electrically connected to said power means via switch means for supplying power thereto, said battery box being connected to the rear end of the housing of said car by means of a relatively short, flexible tube.
 6. A toy as set forth in claim 5, further comprisinG a semitransparent spherical casing in which is mounted a miniature electric bulb electrically connected to said dry cell batteries via said switch means and adapted to emit light when the switch is turned on, said spherical casing being connected to the rear end of the battery box by means of a relatively short, flexible tube.
 7. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein the housing of said car has a generally oval shape and is composed of two symmetrical housing sections removably secured together, said housing having at its forward end portion a substantially U-shaped recess in which the rear end of a frame having a pair of arms rotatably carrying the cogged wheels is pivotally mounted.
 8. A toy as set forth in claim 7, wherein one of said arms is a stationary arm projecting forwardly from the front end of said frame on one side thereof and the other of said arms is a rotatable arm rotatably secured to said frame on the other side thereof, said rotatable arm being adapted to pivot within a predetermined angular range and constantly biased by means of a spring in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the cogged wheel carried by said stationary arm so as to normally keep the cogged wheel carried by said rotatable arm away from the first-mentioned cogged wheel in a parallel and eccentrically spaced-apart relationship therewith.
 9. A toy as set forth in claim 6, wherein the battery box has a generally elongated oval shape and is composed of two symmetrical box sections removably secured thereto. 